Elizabeth II of England biography

Elizabeth II of England (April 21, 1926) Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She was born in London, England. Her secular name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor. Her father was George VI, was crowned in 1936, thanks to the abdication of her brother. Elizabeth was the first daughter of George VI and his wife Isabel. She was baptized under the Anglican religion. She was educated at home by her mother and governess, Marion Crawford. Her teachings focused on history, language, literature, and music. Crawford published a biographical book about the early years of Elizabeth and her sister Margarita entitled The Little Princesses. The book talks about Isabel’s taste for horses and dogs and her great responsibility.

When Elizabeth grew up she married Lieutenant Phillip, Prince of Greece and Denmark, in that sense, Phillip and Elizabeth received the title of Dukes of Edinburgh. Fruit of this union was born: Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, Princess Anne, Andrew, Duke of York, and Edward, Earl of Wessex. When her father died she was with her mother in Kenya, at that time it was a British colony. So it was on June 2, 1953, when Elizabeth was crowned under the name of Elizabeth II. She was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the former Westminster Abbey.

This great event was televised and attended by heads of state and representatives of European royal houses. In her role as Queen Elizabeth II, assumed the duty of perpetuating the unifying character of the Crown in the political space of the former British Empire, which became the Commonwealth after the process of decolonization begun in the 1960s. Although clearly the political power of the monarchy British after the Second World War was reduced. Then, it began to play a simply symbolic role, there were notable changes in the relationship with the former colonies. Elizabeth II, unlike the previous British monarchs, made many trips to improve political relations.

In this sense, she strengthened ties with subjects of the most diverse races, beliefs, and cultures. Although she gained great popularity, she did not escape the criticisms and controversial scandals within her family. There was much talk about the conjugal misunderstandings of her children: Prince Andrew separated from Sarah Ferguson, tensions between Charles of England and the popular Diana of Wales became public domain, and the divorce of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips was consummated. That same year, the Palace of Windsor caught fire, the residence of the queen, leaving important material and monetary damages. The government hastily announced that it would cover the cost of repairs.

But the previous thing was very questioned by public opinion, which caused a strong decrease in the popularity of the institution. Again Prince Charles was the victim of the controversy over the death of Princess Diane of Wales in a car accident, the insensitivity of the royal family was remarkable. Elizabeth II had to make several approaches with the people and strengthened ties, show their family less cold and protocol. In the celebration of the golden wedding of her marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh, she said she would open the monarchy to citizens. The idea was to give a popular and familiar tone to the celebrations of the crown or to visit the victims of terrorist acts, gestures that slowly paid off.

She has been a queen very attached to tradition; It is orderly and practical. However, with the celebrations of her silver jubilee as queen in several places in the United Kingdom, Elizabeth increased her popularity, also made national tours and trips to member countries of the Commonwealth. She was a very healthy queen, but in 2003 she developed a problem on her knees: arthroscopy on her knees, so she had surgery and had to cancel certain commitments. In March 2013, she suffered a stomach infection with symptoms of gastroenteritis and was admitted to King Edward VII’s hospital. It was said that the queen was not happy with the policies imposed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, regarding the British Armed Forces being overburdened in Iraq and Afghanistan and their fear of rural issues.

Nonetheless, Elizabeth supported Blair’s efforts to achieve peace in Northern Ireland. In 2010, she had a meeting in Scotland with Pope Benedict XVI. Her jubilees; of diamond and sapphire, have been great celebrations in the United Kingdom. Her reign has been admired for her important management of national unification, Elizabeth II has avoided the separation of the United Kingdom with its constituent countries. She was responsible for a clear transition from an imperial system to a free association of nations, in this, her main purposes are mutual cooperation, democracy, and cultural exchange.

Her reign is one of the longest in the history of the country. Elizabeth II has always remained popular but outside the media trivialization of her image. Several attempts, a referendum, have arisen in the new millennium to abolish the English monarchy, but it has not worked. Although many claims that this institution is anti-democratic and anachronistic, many people continue to defend it. On the other hand, it is assured that the finances of the Royal House are not transparent.